Middle East must focus on reducing wasteful use of energy

The Middle East needs to focus more on curbing the wasteful use of energy, Dr Nasser Saidi, Chairman, Clean Energy Business Council (MENA) told the Middle East Energy (MEE) 2020 conference on 3 March.

While the region is at the forefront of renewable energy development, with more than 7GW of renewable projects in the pipeline, not enough is being done to tackle the inefficient consumption of energy, which is being encouraged by low prices.

“The price of energy is low because it is subsidised and this encourages the overuse of energy and inefficiencies,” he said, adding that governments need to be talking about renewables and energy efficiency simultaneously. “We need to move beyond renewable energy targets and be cognisant of the reality… the bigger problem is the issue of climate change.”

The countries of the Middle East face rising sea levels, increasing desertification, population displacement, and rising heat levels as a consequence of climate change.

Saidi said renewable energy targets need to be put within the framework of decarbonising economies.

He recommended governments remove energy subsidies and impose a carbon tax of $35-50 a tonne. “Targets and renewables are very nice, and we can applaud ourselves for those, but they are just targets. What is at stake is our existence.”

MEE 2020 is being held under the patronage of the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and runs from 3-5 March at Dubai World Trade Centre.